It appeared that the generally approved guidelines to ‘follow your dreams’ and ‘fulfil your potential’ were relevant only until the stage of life when you were best placed to enjoy it and achieve anything of note. At that point, you as an individual became less important than your generic capability to produce another person.
Donelle McKinley – Selfish, OTHERHOOD
Join the club…
No, the other one.
OTHERHOOD: Essays on being childless, childfree and child-adjacent
Edited by Alie Benge, Lil O’Brien and Kathryn van Beek. Massey University Press, 2024
In New Zealand the number of people who will never have children is growing, and they’re pushing back against the narrative that if they don’t, their lives will be somehow ‘less than’.
Otherhood’s essays are by writers who have felt on the outside looking in, lived unexpected lives, and given the finger to social expectations.
Thought-provoking, moving and often hilarious, Otherhood invites you into a rich and bold conversation about what makes a fulfilling life.
Available now in print and digital from Massey University Press, bookshops, and online retailers.
“One of the most thorough and varied personal approaches to this topic to date”
New Zealand Review of Books
“It not only deserves a spot on your bookshelf but also on your person, so that the next time someone asks you about children, you can simply hand them this collection”
Kete Books